Here are the rules:1. Do a quick post about the person that tagged you saying thanks2. Answer the 10 questions3. Follow 3 new blogs and list them.4. Tag 6 people5. Challenge one person to do something fun or crazy

1: Have you ever been to a rodeo? Yes - a long time ago, but I have been. :)

2: Have you ever tried to ride a cow? No, unfortunately, I have never really had the opportunity to try...

3: Have you ever milked a cow or goat? Yes.

4: Have you ever been to a Demolition Derby? No - sorry, I'm not interested in seeing cars get wrecked.

5: What is your favorite Country song? I don't listen to country. :S

b: Who's the artist? N/A

6: Do you like to hunt? I've never been, but I think I would enjoy it. :)

7: Have you ever cooked your breakfast over an open fire in your backyard? No...that sounds fun, though.

8: Have you ever thought that the muck was shallow and when you stepped in it, you sank knee deep? Let's see...Maybe it was that way when I stepped into the edge of our swamp one time, except it wasn't quite knee-deep.

9: What is the hardest thing you have ever done? Confronting a friend about an ungodly attitude.

10: (The question is optional) What's one of your most embarrassing moments? The time I fell UP the choir stairs in front of a guy I liked. I couldn't even THINK about the incident for six whole weeks, but now I look back on it and laugh. :)

I tag: Nobody, because mostly everyone IS tagged. :-PI challenge: Elinor to wait thirty minutes after her American Girl package arrives to open it. ;-) (Just kidding, I wouldn't do that to her!)I follow: I already listed blogs on my other blog, but here's one you could go and visit: Marie's Musings.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

1. Do a quick post about the person that tagged you saying thanks2. Answer the 10 questions3. Follow 3 new blogs and list them.4. Tag 6 people5. Challenge one person to do something fun or crazy

So...1. Have you ever been to a rodeo? Y-yes... I think I went to one at WLD Ranch... Wow, that was a looooong time ago; I barely remember it.2. Have you ever tried to ride a cow?Ha! NO!3. Have you ever milked a cow or a goat? I think I tried to milk a goat once. Didn't work. :-)4. Have you ever been to a Demolition Derby? I don't believe so. Not interested. :-)5. What is your favorite country song? I don't listen to country music necessarily! I don't know, maybe I know a country song or two, but don't know that it's country... :-P7. Have you ever cooked your breakfast over an open fire in your backyard? Not breakfast, no; but I have cooked hotdogs and marshmallows! :-)8. Have you ever thought that the muck was shallow and when you stepped in it, you sank knee deep? Yes :-P9. What was the hardest thing you've ever had to do? Um.... physical science, maybe? :-P Well, leaving the last church was pretty hard.10. What's one of your most embarrassing moments? (optional) Well, there are some things that I wasn't embarrassed about at the time, but am now. Things like blowing up at a friend in front of her whole family because she was laughing when I fell off my bike... :-S And other things like that. I guess I should say falling out of the hayloft in front of a bunch of people (yeah, missing my footing, falling down a pick stack of hay bales, hitting the little door there, and falling a whole story and landing on the ground at the feet of a ten-year-old boy! LOL! ) But that was actually quite hilarious! :-PI'll skip tagging people this time because I already tagged some people on my other blog, and I think most everyone else has been tagged... Caroline, from Standing in the Sunlight, have you been tagged yet? If not, I'll tag you. :-)Here are some new blogs that I am following (didn't start following them for this tag, though, just recently found them):

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I think I like this better than any of my other doll projects so far! I'm going to have a hard time parting from it... ;-) It was my first time making box/inverted pleats; aren't they neat?? I had a ball making them...

Anyway, I still have to make the blouse to go with this and then put it up for sale. I actually already made a blouse, but when I was done with everything except for the fastenings I decided it was way to fray-happy and I didn't like the way it looked. (I had used a very thin, fraying material.) So I am going to start all over again with muslin and probably trim it with piping instead of lace.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Isn't Samantha C-YUTE in braids???? :-D She has been a very gracious and excellent model, despite her wobbly legs.

I like this view. :-)

And guess what's underneath?Bloomers! My first time making anything like pants. It was fun and EASY! :-D They look just like the ones Kirsten came in (which I need to make some for her because, I don't know how but they are so yellowed now, and have a mysterious stain on them that I have no idea what it is! :-S) Anyway!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

***The camera didn't capture the STELLAR colors of those skeins, unfortunately...the blue (Bright Blue) is just that - bright! And the variegated (Citrus) puts me in mind of mermaids...At any rate, the two colors are going into a scarf like the Raspberry and Confetti yarns I used before. :) These skeins I got on the current Jo-Ann sale of four for $10!!

And here's a sneak peak at the doll mob cap that I made today. I ended up doing something differently than the pattern, but I think it looks okay and people who don't know the pattern might not even notice it's different. :-PThis mob cap is on sale with the floral colonial-style doll dress over at Etsy.

I know I need to stop by patterns and actually make something out of them. But, really, I am planning on using them, seriously! :-)

My Laughing Moon corset pattern arrived today. I am SO excited!Yesterday at JoAnn's I bought some new patterns that I've had my eye on. Hey, they were only 99 cents! :-PAre these not, like, so cute?? I love them because they (at least the view on the right) are so modest and feminine. I also saw some absolutely breath-takingly ADORABLE (!!!!!!) fabric that I am determined to buy to make the following dress (center photo on package) for our tentative trip to Florida... or Canada... which ever works out for this year! :-) It's a very "Florida-y" print and I am absolutely in love with it. :-DWhat projects are you working on right now?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

It may look pretty empty now, but "Marianne" has a couple projects to sell that we still need to get pictures for. Hopefully tomorrow. I also have to make the cap for the colonial-style dress, and believe me, there are more doll dresses to come. :-)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

As I am about to embark on selling doll clothes, and as I have been attempting to model my doll dresses on my 12-year-old doll and Bethany's 8?-year-old doll (with broken legs), I have realized that it just can't be done. So when my CD comes due in February, I am planning on taking out a little money on an "investment" which will help me, Lord willing, in my sales.

The problem is, what will go into that investment?

One thing is definite, though the quantity of it is less certain.Should I do one or two? With two, I could display Kirsten andmy other investment in my room, and also use it to hold the dolls up for modeling instead of trying to balance them on their own.

As for my second investment.... don't laugh......I want get another doll. Not to play with-- stop laughing!-- this is an investment. I love Kirsten more than any other doll in the world, but she's my special friend, not a model, and her ratty hair and slightly pen-marked upper lip and other worn and used features will prove that. So I need to hire a younger doll to do my modeling. :-)

The question is, which one? I want one that can look contemporary for modern clothing and historical for historical clothing. Below are some of my ideas.

The new Rebecca doll. Isn't she just gorgeous? I absolutely love her looks, and while I don't know much about her story and anticipate that it is full of the usual attitudes against authority, sibling rivalry, and other not-that-great character traits, I do commend American Girl for creating a Jewish character! Judaism is an incomplete religion without Jesus Christ, definitely, but the Jews are still God's chosen people and I think it's great that AG is supporting them.

Another idea is the Josefina doll. I have always loved Josefina's stories because they are full of Biblical principles and even Scripture references, and they promote good character and family relationships, more, I think, than the other characters. Josefina isn't one of those rebellious characters who complains about her parents, grumbles about things not being fair, or sneaks behind authority's backs to do something she oughtn't be doing. At least, that I can remember. :-)Besides that, Josefina is also a beautiful doll; I love her hair and eyes and skin tone and her dresses as well.

I know absolutely nothing about Ruthie (I've never even read the Kit books, only skimmed them) but the doll is very pretty and her dress is WAY cute! :-) I could probably use her for either historical or modern. Isn't she precious? :-)I could also get some of the "Just Like You" dolls (though they wouldn't be just like me. ;-) )

This one is cute, though I don't know whether she could pass as historical even if I dressed her up. :-/ What do you think?

This girlie is ever so cute!! She looks a little bit like Ruthie except she has a different eye color and presentation dress. If I got her, I would call her Molly Gibson because she has curly dark brown hair. :-) She could pass for both modern and historical, I think.

Finally, AG is having a little "contest" for their new 2010 doll, Lanie. I'm not exactly interested in Lanie, but if I could get her for free, I definitely would use her!

SOOOOOO....

What do you think I should do?

P.S. I forgot to mention, whatever I get I would like to pack away eventually to save for my little girl, if I ever have one! :-)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Having owned a Kirsten doll for over twelve years and knowing many others who have also owned a Kirsten doll, I know that I am not the only one who is disappointed with American Girl's decision to discontinue Kirsten and her products. I am sure there are little girls out there who would have loved to collect her whole wardrobe. While I cannot offer the whole wardrobe, I have made a re-creation of Kirsten's school dress and shawl to sell!

Here is a comparison between my version and the original:

Mine has been drawn directly from a pattern made and distributed by American Girl in the 1990's (which product has since been discontinued, as have all the Kirsten doll products). Construction details are all nearly identical except for the following points:

Original: Bolder red background and larger sprigs in the printMine: Burgundy red background with smaller sprigs in the print

Original: Red and blue plaid shawlMine: Blue and white checked shawl

Original: Two tucks in skirtMine: No tucks in skirt (this was due to a mishap in cutting the fabric, otherwise there would have been tucks!).

All visible seams have been finished with a tight zigzag stitch. Back and sleeves close with velcro, like the original.

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This dress will be going in our Etsy shop when we open it and will be selling for $15. If you are interested in purchasing it and would rather not wait, drop me a comment or an email at tuckleberrytimes (at) suite224 (dot) net.

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Note: Pictures taken by "Margaret Dashwood" in front of my Kirsten "Scenes and Settings" book-- that was one of the best garage sale finds we have ever had!! :-D

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

My desire is to sell this dress as soon as "Marianne" and I open our Etsy shop (which should be soon, Lord willing! :-) ) However, if any of you readers are interested in purchasing it before then, you can drop me a comment and we'll figure out a price. I'd like to make a mob cap to go with this when I put it up for sale on Etsy, and will probably set the price at around $15.

Some Up-Close Details

Lace on the collar

Elbow-length sleeves trimmed with laceBack closure with snapsI based this dress loosely on McCalls 3627; however, I altered the whole way the skirt and bodice attach as well as a few other details (as the pattern is not meant for commercial purposes).

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

***Goes really well with a white coat. :) (BTW, I borrowed the coat from Margaret.)

***This scarf was made crocheting with two strands of Fun Fur at once; so it took four skeins - basically, two skeins for the length and two more for the thickness. It's good and stretchy, almost as well as if it were knitted. It's just like the one I saw at Macy's. ;)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Sorry the picture is so blurry; I couldn't get it to focus on the needle. But I wanted to show you how it bent!

I'm not sure why my needles keep breaking; this is the second in one or two months (I don't remember when the last one broke.) Could it be because I'm using a needle that's meant for heavier fabrics that I am using? I am out of less heavy needles and keep forgetting to pick a pack up at JoAnn's...